6.0 KiB
Skills Recommendations
Skills are packaged expertise with workflows, reference materials, and best practices that Claude can invoke for specialized tasks.
Built-in Agents
Plan Agent
Best for: Complex implementations needing architectural planning
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Multi-file changes needed | New feature development |
| Architectural decisions | System design |
| Unknown scope | Needs investigation first |
| Multiple valid approaches | Trade-off analysis |
Value: Thinks through implementation before coding, identifies files to change, considers edge cases.
Explore Agent
Best for: Understanding large or unfamiliar codebases
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Large codebase (>500 files) | Navigate efficiently |
| New to the project | Understand structure |
| Finding patterns | How is X done? |
| Debugging | Trace execution paths |
Value: Quickly searches, reads, and synthesizes information across many files.
Document Creation Skills
docx (Word Documents)
Best for: Creating and editing Word documents
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Report generation | Technical reports |
| Contract templates | Legal documents |
| Documentation export | Share with non-developers |
| Tracked changes | Review workflows |
xlsx (Spreadsheets)
Best for: Creating and analyzing Excel files
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Data analysis | Process CSV/Excel data |
| Report generation | Formatted tables |
| Financial models | Formulas and calculations |
| Data transformation | Clean and reshape data |
pptx (Presentations)
Best for: Creating PowerPoint presentations
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Technical presentations | Architecture diagrams |
| Project updates | Status slides |
| Demo decks | Feature walkthroughs |
| Training materials | Educational content |
pdf (PDF Documents)
Best for: PDF manipulation and creation
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Form filling | Complete PDF forms |
| Document merging | Combine files |
| Text extraction | Parse PDF content |
| PDF generation | Create from data |
Frontend & Design Skills
frontend-design
Best for: Creating polished, production-ready UI components
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| UI component work | React, Vue, Angular |
| Landing pages | Marketing sites |
| Dashboard design | Data visualization |
| Design system work | Component libraries |
Value: Creates distinctive, high-quality UI instead of generic AI aesthetics.
canvas-design
Best for: Creating visual art and static designs
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Poster creation | Marketing materials |
| Visual diagrams | Architecture visuals |
| Infographics | Data visualization |
algorithmic-art
Best for: Generative art with p5.js
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Interactive visuals | Creative coding |
| Generative patterns | Flow fields, particles |
| Data art | Algorithmic visualization |
theme-factory
Best for: Applying themes to artifacts
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Brand consistency | Apply company colors |
| Document styling | Professional look |
| Presentation themes | Consistent decks |
brand-guidelines
Best for: Applying Anthropic brand styling
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Anthropic materials | Official branding |
| Partner materials | Co-branded content |
Development Skills
mcp-builder
Best for: Creating MCP servers to extend Claude
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Custom tool needs | Internal APIs |
| API integrations | Third-party services |
| Workflow automation | Custom tooling |
Value: Guides creation of well-designed MCP servers in Python (FastMCP) or TypeScript.
webapp-testing
Best for: Testing web applications with Playwright
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| UI testing needs | Verify functionality |
| Visual debugging | Screenshot issues |
| Browser automation | Interactive testing |
| Console log analysis | Debug JS errors |
skill-creator
Best for: Creating new skills for Claude
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Repeatable workflows | Standardize processes |
| Domain expertise | Package knowledge |
| Team patterns | Share best practices |
Collaboration Skills
doc-coauthoring
Best for: Co-authoring documentation with users
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Technical specs | RFC documents |
| Decision docs | ADRs |
| Proposals | Feature proposals |
| Documentation | User guides |
Value: Structured workflow for iterative document refinement.
internal-comms
Best for: Writing internal communications
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Status reports | Project updates |
| Announcements | Team comms |
| Incident reports | Post-mortems |
| FAQs | Knowledge sharing |
Multimedia Skills
slack-gif-creator
Best for: Creating animated GIFs for Slack
| Recommend When | Examples |
|---|---|
| Team celebrations | Achievements |
| Demo animations | Feature previews |
| Fun reactions | Custom emoji-style GIFs |
Quick Reference: Detection Patterns
| Look For | Suggests Skill |
|---|---|
| Complex task, multiple files | Plan agent |
| "How does X work?" | Explore agent |
.docx files or doc requests |
docx skill |
.xlsx files or spreadsheet work |
xlsx skill |
| Presentation needs | pptx skill |
| PDF files to process | pdf skill |
| React/Vue/Angular components | frontend-design |
| UI design requests | canvas-design |
| Testing local web app | webapp-testing |
| "Build an MCP server" | mcp-builder |
| Documentation writing | doc-coauthoring |
| Internal announcement | internal-comms |